As most are wrapping up (or already have wrapped up) the last few days/weeks of school, I’m gearing up to take an online course that starts next week. Exciting! I need a few more credits this summer to renew my Indiana State Teaching License in time for the next/upcoming school year, and so I’ve signed up with the University of Phoenix Online. The main course I’m taking is on Classroom Management. We’ll be studying and discussing various classroom management models and examining them for pros and cons. By the end of the class (3 weeks long) we’ll put together a short paper on our ideal classroom management model, hopefully containing bits and pieces from the various …

Normally I’m not a fan of Canadian geese. I know you’re wondering how this is possible, right? I live in Canada. How could I not adore the Canadian goose? I guess I can’t forget the evil ones that made a nest at the doorway of the old apartment I lived in back in Indiana when Oliver was a puppy. The things trapped me in my car and repeatedly went after baby Oliver at every opportunity, hissing up a storm. You don’t realize just how big Canadian geese are until they’re out of the water and chasing you on land with their wings spread. *shudder* However, I realize they were just protecting their nest. Especially after …

No, I’m not pregnant. Yet. That seems to be the first thing that everyone asks the minute we say that we have some news to share these days. Slow down, people!
Lately Lucas and I have been talking about our future. We know that one or more children are definitely on the horizon for us; we’re almost ready. But in the midst of talking seriously about starting our own family, it hit us: how can we start a family so far away from family?

It occurred to me this week that this is my third official Calgary winter and I do not own a proper pair of winter boots.  Sure I have some dressier looking calf-high boots, but their tread is just not meant for braving the slippery sidewalks of town, which currently are also covered in heavy snow.  This realization became apparent to me this week especially due to the fact that I started my kindergarten teaching job on Monday and now I walk 11 blocks from the train to school and then 11 blocks back to the train every day. And let’s face it: my old boots from Indiana just weren’t cutting it.  Not only were they …

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada! I hope everyone is planning to or has already spent some quality time with family and friends over a feast of delicious food this long weekend.  This is a good time of year to not only stop and think about all of the things you are thankful for, but also to tell those people how much you’re thankful for them, too.  I’ll start by saying how thankful I am for family.  My little immediate family here that consists of Lucas and our boys (the dogs), but also family that we’re far apart from right now, too.  Love to the Karpiuks and Bouthots out in British Columbia and love to the Means, Archer …

Happy October!
It seems like if you blink, several months can just fly right by before you even notice!  Here it is October, and our last post was back in July.  You’ve not missed too much, though there are a few new things going on in the Karpiuk family.
Oliver is still Oliver, and Winston is still Winston.  Oliver has turned six years old today, can you believe it?  Also today happy anniversary wishes go out to my little brother and his wife as well as our friends Joe and Jeri.  Congratulations on your first year of marriage!
Lucas recently switched jobs completely and is now working happily at Shell in web development at their big Shell Canada …